A Labor of Love, a romantic evening to benefit the Amador Theatre Renovation Project will take place on Saturday, February 9. The event will be hosted by Callahan-Pentz Properties, The Prudential Insurance Company of America, and Viacom Cablevision, through the efforts of the Pleasanton Cultural Arts Council.

The event begins at 6:30 pm with cocktails, and a silent auction, followed by a gourmet, sit-down dinner and a voice auction with Valley Auction’s owner and auctioneer, Bob Kinney (CA License #774). The dinner will be hosted by Callahan-Pentz at Hacienda Business Park’s Saratoga Center, which will be romantically strewn with hearts.

The guests will be entertained with piano music as well as the evening’s scheduled festivities and fun surprises. Prudential’s Roger Gage and Tri-Valley Community Fund’s Jim Krouse will serve as Masters of Ceremonies.

The delicious meal will include C.C. Cuisine Caterer Sigi’s Appetizer Salad, Alsatian Chicken, stuffed with veal, black truffles, and cognac; and sauteed fresh vegetables, all topped off with a scrumptious Apple Tartain dessert. The sumptuous meal is being provided by The Prudential Insurance Company of America.

The auction items are entertaining and fun, and surprisingly unusual. Silent auction items include celebrity donations that were sent for by Co-Chairman Kathy Kallis (Kathy and husband George chaired preparations for the event), and Phyllis Wentworth.

If you’d like a signed page script from “Aftermash” and an autographed tongue depressor to match, Jamie Farr’s donation is perfect for you. But if you’re a Kenny Rogers fan, the silent auction has the package for you as well, an autographed photo with T-shirt, playbill, and belt buckle!

If you’d rather have Jack Lemmon’s or Glenn Campbell’s key chain, or Hugh Downs’ neck tie, the silent auction is your best bet. But if you’re more the wining and dining type, or you’re into adventure and travel, just wait until the voice auction.

The items are designed to delight and entertain. For instance, a weekend in Truckee or a vacation in the Cayman Islands, a plane ride for three to a restaurant for dinner, and Michael Dittrich’s "Evening in New Orleans" for 12 should all be hot items.

You might want to hold out for the Michael Jackson Cabbage Doll, though, or the Stafford’s dinner for four, complete with limousine service. Even Joe Callahan himself has offered a helping hand, to your automobile that is. For the right price, Joe Callahan will wash your car!

Following the complection of dinner and the voice auction, the guests will skip down the road a block (you may drive if you’d rather) to Viacom Cablevision Headquarters which will be converted into a spectacular "valentine/discotheque" scene.

The dance floor will be showered with dancing lights from the mirrored ceiling ball. Hanging hearts, twinkling lights, and lush greenery will complete the valentine theme. A complete sound system will carry the sounds of the popular Tri-Valley group, The Illusions to every corner of the room.

“The whole event is going to be elegant and exciting,” says Kathy Kallis. “We’ve spent a lot of time on the decorations and the color schemes. It’s going to be a really nice, fun, romantic way to celebrate Valentine’s Day and help the Restoration Fund.

Proceeds raised from A Labor of Love will directly benefit the general fund or the Theatre Renovation project. Although the roof, the heating, and the air conditioning is finished, there is still much left to be done. The PCAC, together with the City of Pleasanton and the Pleasanton School District, took on the project in hopes of raising the estimated $680,000 for the project through grants, donations, in-kind services, and materials.

They are well on their way, thanks to major donors such as the Fee + Munson Architects, Meyer Properties North, The Prudential Insurance Company of America, Ponderosa Homes, Reynolds & Brown, the Stoneson Development Corporation and Target Press.

Countless volunteers, too numerous to mention, have been helpful in the PCAC’s efforts. Committee members directly involved with A Labor of Love preparations were Kathy and George Kallis, City Councilman and Charioteer Chairman, Walt Wood, Elisabeth Purselle, Michael Dittrich, Viacom Cablevision; Carol Bush, Pleasanton Chamber of Commerce; Lilly Ault, Pleasanton Pathways; Phyllis Wentworth, PCAC; Charlotte Severin; and Marie Cochran.

The PCAC and the City of Pleasanton would like to thank everyone for their efforts for this worthwhile cause. However, much remains to be accomplished. Approximately 50% of the chairs are still available. They can be purchased for $100 by individuals, businesses, etc., who will then be recognized on a permanent plaque of donors in the new theatre lobby.

A Labor of Love will be one of the years highlight events and shouldn’t be missed, besides the fact that it benefits one of the Tri-Valley’s greatest causes. Reservations for the semi-formal affair are $25 per person. You may respond by calling 463-1561, days; or 846-4306, evenings. If you would like to get a group together, a table for ten will be reserved.

So pick your favorite valentine and make your reservations for A Labor of Love right away!

To see a reproduction of the original article and edition of Pleasanton Pathways, visit: January 28, 1985 Pathways.